STAR WARS: TARNUS I
by DifferenceO'Mighty
Summary: A former clone trooper, CT-7495, of the Galactic Republic is given the chance to serve the galaxy once again as an Imperial Stormtrooper.


STAR WARS

TARNUS

Prologue

Clone Trooper CT-7495, under the command of Jedi Master General Shra, was recently enlisted into the Grand Army of the Republic. Nearing the end of the Clone Wars Shra and CT-7495 were stationed at the Jedi Temple protect it and the Republic Capital. Shra commanded over a 100 clone troopers, including CT-7495. These troopers were placed on routine patrols throughout the capital city of Coruscant.

Several weeks after their assignment began a disturbance erupted at the chancellors chambers. General Grievous and several magna guards of the Confederacy of Independent Systems had infiltrated the planet and made an attempt to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine. Shra, CT-7495, and several troopers ran as fast as they could towards the Chancellors chambers but were too late to pursue the enemies. Instead they were met with an invasion force.

Confederate ships and battle droids swarmed the planet. Shra ignited his lightsaber and his troopers loaded their rifles. They engaged the enemy and the battle lasted so long.

Months later…

Shra and CT-7495 were present at the end of the Battle of Utapau. They were also present when Chancellor Palpatine announced the execution of Order 66. Shra witnessed clone troopers turning on their Jedi commanders, including Obi-Wan Kenobi. Shra could no longer trust his troops and fled, however, he was stopped by CT-7495. Shra ignited his lightsaber as CT-7495 aimed his rifle. But the clone lowered it and removed his helmet. He told the Jedi that Arc Troopers were unphased by the order as he was not given a neural implant to obey it. He told the Jedi to hide among the Utapauan's and to escape only when the Republic had left the planet.

Shra asked CT-7495 why he was helping him, CT-7495 told Shra that the order he was given did not apply to him. Shra surrendered his lightsaber to CT-7495 so that he may use it to show his superiors that Shra was killed and that the lightsaber was his trophy. Shra then told the clone, that his number was a poor name and dubbed him Tarnus. The clone accepted the name and thanked the Jedi for his companionship. They then departed ways.

Chapter 1

Tarnus, a well known soldier of the Republic turned Imperial officer. At the end of the Clone Wars many clone units were disbanded or decommissioned. The newly formed Galactic Empire began calling for the recruitment of new soldiers. Tarnus, although a clone, was personally asked by Darth Vader to rise to the rank of Captain and to command a unit of the newly formed Stormtrooper Corps. Darth Vader's request was answered positively, however, Emperor Palpatine had informed Tarnus that due to his accelerated aging, Tarnus, would not serve long as an officer. Tarnus knew this and requested that the Emperor use him for as long as he could on the front lines. The Emperor was more than impressed by the Clones loyalty.

Tarnus, upon entering the new Officer Corps, had already disliked the new officers due to their inexperience in combat and naivety towards veterans of the Clone Wars. During psychological evaluations many of the new officers failed to maintain mental hardness and were removed from the Imperial military. Those officers that did the evaluations did so by the skin of their teeth and were able to move on to combat training. Tarnus, during the evaluations, passed the evaluations at the top of his class and due to his experience in the Clone Wars was exempted from combat training.

Darth Vader learned of Tarnus' exemption from the combat training and alerted Admiral Tarkin of it. Admiral Tarkin is one of the highest ranking officers in the Imperial Military and Vader's most trusted ally. Tarkin met with Tarnus himself and asked the clone if he would volunteer for the combat training to demonstrate what a clone was capable of in combat. Tarkin wanted the new officers and soldiers to see firsthand the power of the former clone army. Tarnus agreed to volunteer.

Tarnus was placed in a combat simulation room. The room was as large as a stadium. The clone had to wear light, white armor equipped with sensors and heating pads to simulate the environment. Tarnus' combat helmet covered his whole head and displayed visuals of the environment around him. The combat instructor alerted Tarnus that the simulation would be one he is familiar with.

Using semi solid light projections the stadium size room was transformed to look like the environment of Felucia, a world covered in forests and swarming with creatures. Tarnus, during the Clone Wars, was stationed on Felucia as a front line soldier. He himself fought against the CIS forces.

The combat instructor informed Tarnus that the simulation would possess battle droids who are defending an outpost from Republic forces. It was Tarnus' job to infiltrate and capture the fortress before Republic forces arrived. Tarnus confirmed he understood his orders. The simulation had begun.

Chapter 2

Tarnus looked around the environment, the poisonous air, the greenery, and the sounds of Acklay nearby. It was exactly like Felucia. Despite the threat of wildlife Tarnus walked towards his objective. The combat instructor came over his communications informing him that his objective was less than 200 meters from his current position and that he should travel quietly. Tarnus walked slower and his awareness was higher. After walking another 50 meters he was able to see the fortress ahead of him. A large stone structure atop a mass of trees, however, he could not see any battle droids. Thinking he may be too low to the ground to see what is above the trees Tarnus climbed a tree himself to gain a better view.

After several minutes, Tarnus reached the top of a tree and located several points of entry into the fortress, but there were battle droids all over the area. He could not afford direct combat, so he looked for another way in. There was a crack in the fortress, large enough for a human to squeeze through. That was his way in. The clone ran as fast as he could towards the crack without making much noise, he was almost silent. Once he got to the crack he squeezed through the tight crevice. With back and chest to the wall, Tarnus made his way through.

A few seconds later Tarnus made it through and entered a grand hallway. Looking in both directions he saw a group of battle droids had just left the area he was in. Tarnus went the opposite direction looking for form of map. After walking as far as he could he came across a computer terminal after several meters. Unwilling to trigger any security systems Tarnus was skeptical of the terminal, he figured that these battle droids are all programmed to know the layout of the structure, it was suspicious that a terminal was here. Tarnus left the monitor and continued on his path.

Tarnus reached a stairwell at the end of the hall he had followed. It was unguarded and there was no sign of a security system, it was an obvious trap. Despite the trap, Tarnus was running out of time, Republic forces are closing in and the fortress had to be taken before they arrived. He took the bait.

Climbing the stairs nearing the top, Tarnus began placing timed charges every 100 meters he climbed up. He only managed to place four. Once he reached the top of the stairwell he was met with blaster fire from Super Battle Droids. Heavily armored droids with wrist rockets and heavy blaster cannons. Tarnus grabbed his E-11 Blaster Rifle and fired back. He managed to knock out four of the droids, but was still faced with another six. Before Tarnus could fire back with another volley the droids stopped firing and the voice of a Neimoidian spoke over the communication systems. The voice was of the commander of the fortress telling Tarnus to surrender and he would be spared and if not, then he would be surrounded by the droids and wiped out. Tarnus pulled out a handheld switch and flipped it before the voice could continue destroying the stairwell behind and any possibility of droids attacking him from the back.

The Neimoidian fortress commander made a grunt and ordered the battle droids to kill Tarnus. Tarnus opened fire and eliminate each droid with ease. Tarnus then walked towards heavily armored doors. He accessed the terminal and overrode the security system, opening the doors. In front of him with a blaster pistol aimed at him was the fortress commander. Before the commander could say anything Tarnus dropped to the ground and unloaded his rifle into the commander ending his life. Tarnus stood up and approached the commanders terminal. At the terminal Tarnus deactivated the battle droids surrounding the fortress and contacted Republic forces informing them that the fortress had been taken.

Simulation Complete. Mission Accomplished.

Chapter 3

The simulation disappeared before Tarnus' eyes, it was a white stadium once again. The combat instructor personally came to meet Tarnus. What Tarnus did not expect was that the instructor was also a clone. Tarnus and his instructor shook hands with the instructor stating "You make all clones proud." Their moment of joy ended with the presence of Darth Vader and Admiral Tarkin. Both were impressed by his quick actions and critical thinking that they thought it would be a shame that the aging process would cut his career as an officer short. Tarnus, removed his helmet and asked what they were suggesting.

Vader himself stated, that both he, Tarkin, and several others under the order of the Emperor were constructing a project to slow down the aging process of clones, so that they could age at a normal rate. Vader admitted that the clones were far superior in combat than the new stormtroopers so he wanted to slow down their aging in order for them to continue serving the empire. Tarnus' combat instructor, Hynor, is a successful patient of the project. Hynor removed his helmet and revealed himself to not have aged, not a single gray hair or wrinkle on his face. Tarnus on the other hand was developing gray hair by the day.

Tarkin and Vader gave Tarnus the option to undergo the experiment to slow down his aging. Tarnus agreed to do it on several conditions; that Hynor would become his Captain, Tarnus wanted the rank of Commander, and to be on the front lines of any battle. Vader was impressed and allowed Tarnus' requests to be granted.

Chapter 4

Pain… Suffering… Sorrow… and a hunger for… Death… This is the path to the dark side. But you wonder, what about fear? Anger? And hate? No, there is nothing to fear for everything ends, the feeling of anger is temporary, and hatred? It is useless. The old ways of the sith and the practice of the dark side was wrong, the new way is simply misery. Everyone around the galaxy has seen it firsthand and it comes through war. The Empire is no different, it feeds off the misery of others and that is grows its armies. Families are suffering from the continuous wars and pillaging of their resources. They are then forced to join the military to make ends meet and build a reputation for themselves. Then there is training to fight in unjust wars, committing obvious crimes under the orders of the government, but if it is not done then the misery will continue. That is the dark side, that is the sith.

Chapter 5

Stripped down of his armor and clothing, Tarnus is placed on a surgical table. There are medical droids and a surgeon present preparing to begin the surgery. Vader is overseeing the procedure from an observation window.

Tarnus is placed in a deep sleep. A medical droid slowly slices Tarnus' skin on his head, then it proceeds to slice around the skull and remove the bone until the brain is seen. The surgeon arrives and uses an electrical stimulant to manipulate the electrical field of the brain until he manages to control the aging portion of his mind. While the surgeon operates on the brain the medical droid begins infusing vibranium with Tarnus' bones. The vibranium is to act as armor to his body and minimize any damage sustained. The entire procedure would take several hours to complete, but the beginning was the only easy part.

The surgery was a success and the surgeon closed up Tarnus' openings. He then injected Tarnus with a stimulant to wake him up and what came next was a scream so loud it could be felt throughout the medical facility. Tarnus shook so violently, his eyes rolled back, and his screams continued. Vader stood and watched. Captain Hynor stood beside Vader watching in agony how his a fellow clone had to endure such pain. Vader reminded Hynor that the pain Tarnus feels now was the same pain Hynor went through as well. Vader said that of all the clones that had undergone the procedure only a handful were able to survive the pain that came with it. In the end those that died served their purpose while those that lived would continue until they met their end. Hynor stared at his commander, Tarnus.

The screaming continued but there was no end in sight. Tarnus' body appeared to be resisting the vibranium infusion. Hynor unholstered his pistol prepared to end Tarnus' pain. Vader used the force to grab the pistol and crushed looking to Hynor stating "He will endure this pain." And as Vader crushed the pistol Tarnus stopped screaming. The surgeon came on the communications and informed Vader and Hynor that the procedure was a success. Vader then walked away from the observation platform and left the surgical room. Hynor was ordered to stay until Tarnus had awoke.

Hynor stood beside Tarnus in the room, looking at him. Remembering what it was like to serve in clone wars alongside his brothers, to stand by the injured and wait until they recovered, and to celebrate every victory with a song. This time is a different celebration, he is celebrating a reunion and a second chance at serving his government where he is best suited, in the fields of war. Hynor smiled looking at Commander Tarnus and could not wait for him to wake up so that they may fight once again.

Tarkin came over Hynor's communications and informed him that several clone war veterans were now under Tarnus and Hynor's command. Additionally, Tarkin has formed an entire unit of stormtroopers for Tarnus to command, over 1000 strong, and commissioned as the 739th Acklay Legion, named after the Acklay of Felucia. Hynor was honored and ready to serve once again and could not wait any longer for Tarnus to awake.

Chapter 6

Several days had passed since Tarnus' surgery and since his awakening. His wrinkled skin, now smooth. His grey hair, now black. He looked as young as ever. Tarnus dawning his new stormtrooper armor bearing the silhouette of an acklay on his shoulder pad marched side by side with Hynor and four other officers. Hynor was promoted to Captain-Commander, second in command of the 739th Legion. Tarnus split up his legion into four companies, one for each Captain.

Tarnus was assigned to an Imperial Star Destroyer named Razor. Ship Commander Antawa is charged with Razor and is known to be strict and a woman of extreme discipline. Antawa commands a similar respect to an admiral, however, she has a record as being unforgiving to her enemies. She is known for the destruction of an entire rebel fleet destroyed by the Razor. Admiral Tarkin commended her for that battle. Tarnus and the 739th would be the first time Antawa would have ground forces available under her command.

Knowing of her personality, Tarnus and the rest of his leadership were aware to keep themselves in the highest of standards whenever in her presence. During their first meeting both Tarnus and Antawa were ordered to familiarize themselves with each other. Both leaders did not like the idea, but orders were orders. Their first meeting was held in Antawa's command bridge completely secluded from her crew. They asked one another questions about their experiences in combat and their social life. The meeting lasted several hours and ended with Antawa laughing a majority of the time and Tarnus smiling at the Commander. Both agreed to keep their composure in front of the soldiers and crew to avoid any type of rumors spreading in the ship.

Antawa ordered Tarnus to maintain the physique and discipline of his legion, Tarnus offered to march them throughout the vessel on a daily basis to maintain security and discipline, while also ordering them to utilize the blaster range to maintain their marksmanship. Antawa also instructed Tarnus to allow the stormtroopers to participate in pilot training so they could be qualified for space combat. Tarnus agreed and both he and Antawa departed until their next meeting.

Hynor and the other officers met up with Tarnus asking him of the meeting to which Tarnus replied that it was indeed what others thought it would be like, Antawa never smiled, and remained composed. An obvious lie, but Hynor took it as true. Antawa was passing by and all the stormtrooper officers stood at attention until she was no longer in sight. Hynor mentioned he could feel the tension emanating from her. Tarnus simply stared at Antawa as she walked away and told Hynor that she would be difficult.

Tarnus told Hynor and the others to get the corps ready for their daily tasks. First, each trooper needed to familiarize themselves with the ship. Each captain would take charge of their company and walked their group throughout the ship. Tarnus and Hynor would meet with the crew of the Razor.

Antawa in her chambers undresses and sits on her bed. She looks directly at her closet staring at her grey officers uniform and wonders when her next battle will be. She is growing tired of the monotony.

Chapter 7

Several weeks have passed since the 739th Acklay Legion boarded the Razor. Everything was calm and peaceful, but boring as well. That changed unexpectedly. The galactic empire holonet was broadcasting an imperial order to all available Imperial officers to report to the Yavin system. Antawa placed the ship on high alert and ordered all crew and soldiers to battle stations while the Razor jumped to lightspeed.

Tarnus and Hynor called their soldiers to the hangar bays for immediate transport once the ship was out of hyperspace. The halls were swarming with troopers heading to the hangar bays. Antawa came over the communications and alerted the legion that they would be encountering heavy resistance on the ground. Tarnus understood and continued to his shuttle.

The Razor got out of hyperspace and encountered a rebel Nebulon Frigate. Antawa ordered her crew to fire everything they had on the frigate and to deploy all tie fighters. Tarnus and his legion departed from the ship in their transports and raced to the surface of Yavin IV. Hynor came over communications and alerted the troops that they would be landing extremely close to hostile fire and to expect heavy bombardment from the enemy. The troopers were ready regardless of the situation.

The transports came under fire and Tarnus' transport was hit. He and the rest of his troopers braced for impact, before that he ordered Hynor and the rest of his legion to continue with their mission. Hynor understood.

Tarnus looked around the transport, his troopers sitting, some panicking, and others holding steady. Tarnus could not break his composure so he told his troops not to be afraid and that this was not their end. The transport impacted the ground and slid over 400 meters across an open field. Tarnus miraculously endured the impact and was awake throughout the whole situation, however, he viewed several of his troops die from the impact, some fell unconscious, and the others were in shock. Tarnus stood tall and looked to those who were panicking and reminded them that they were soldiers of the empire and that this was was their duty. Tarnus grabbed one of the unconscious troopers and told the rest to do the same. He ordered one trooper to call for immediate evac for the dead and injured. They managed to reach Antawa on the comms but no word from the Legion.

Antawa told Tarnus that she had lost contact with the legion over an hour ago, but there last known location was at a temple over a kilometer away from Tarnus. The temple is surrounded by a forest and large numbers of enemies, it appears that is where the rebels are making a stand. Tarnus had to make a quick decision. He could not leave the wounded alone since enemies were all over the area, he ordered the majority of the survivors to stay put and took a squad of 7 troopers with him. It would take Tarnus and his squad about 15 minutes to get to the temple. Hopefully, they could meet up with the 739th.

Chapter 8

War, it is always available and easy to make. Not like peace. Peace takes time to make and it is difficult to maintain. War was apparent when the Empire was born and Emperor Palpatine declared himself ruler of the galaxy. The rebels under their banner spread like wildfire throughout the galaxy. It started as small skirmishes, unorganized, easy to subdue, then it became larger and more organized. Palpatine and Darth Vader grew tiresome of these rebellious acts and used their ultimate weapon on a peaceful world to make an example of it to the rest of the galaxy. Alderaan was destroyed in a single strike, billions of lives gone in an instant.

What was expected to silence the rebellion only angered it. The empire in an attempt to wipe out the rebels lost its ultimate weapon, the Death Star. Even more lives were lost. The empire in return was angered and sought its revenge. The rebels that were hidden on Yavin IV felt the Empire's wrath.

One strike here, anger. One strike there, anger. It is everlasting and growing each and every time one enemy strikes another. The misery the dark side brings is rooted in war.

Chapter 9

Hynor has engaged the rebel alliance at the temple, codenamed Arc. Arc is at least 60 stories tall. Members of the 739th legion have engaged the rebels, however, resistance is heavy and massive casualties have been taken from both sides. Hynor had already lost one of his captains and the legion was spread all around the Arc temple. He had been receiving casualty reports left and right and the progress to enter the temple was at a halt. Antawa was unable to send any reinforcements or provide support due to the heavy fighting above Yavin IV. Hynor was about to call for a retreat.

Tarnus came behind Hynor and grabbed his shoulder signalling him to push towards the temple. Hynor was struck with hope and ordered the entire legion to push as fast and as hard as they could towards the temple. They advanced with a new sense of purpose and the fact Tarnus was present improved their morale.

Hynor and Tarnus were at the front line of the battle taking down rebels left and right. Troopers behind were awestruck at how well the clones were performing. They had single handedly took out a group of twenty rebels. The rebels resistance was dwindling and they began to retreat while the troopers were advancing. Tarnus made sure the rebels knew the power of the Empire and ordered his legion to take no prisoners. Those rebels that wanted to surrender were executed without hesitation.

Antawa came over the comms and requested a situation report from Tarnus. Tarnus said that he had located the rest of the legion, there were many casualties, and that they had just entered the Arc temple. Antawa mentioned that she and several other Commanders were able to get their ships in atmosphere and provide support from the air. As Antawa said that support was available TIE fighters were now swarming the skies. Troopers of the 739th were cheering for the sky support.

Tarnus and Hynor were glad to see their Empire encompass the planet. A rebel soldier took Tarnus' stare to the sky as a perfect opportunity to gun him down. The rebel shot Tarnus once in the head and once in the back. Tarnus loss his balance from the blaster impact but regained his footing, turned in the direction of the rebel and unloaded his blaster on him. Hynor and the rest of the legion witnessed the action in front of them and could not believe Tarnus survived the head shot. Tarnus on that day earned the respect and loyalty of his entire legion.

Chapter 10

It had been a full day since the Battle of Yavin IV. The Empire had announced that the battle was a pyrrhic victory. Although they had won the amount of casualties sustained was unacceptable and the loss of the Death Star had a tremendous toll on the galactic economy and maintenance of order. Tarnus and the 739th were glad at the victory but in misery from the losses. Of the legion's 1000 stormtroopers that fought on Yavin IV, over 300 were killed in combat with another 100 killed in the transports. Almost half of the legion was lost.

Tarnus also learned of the loss of Admiral Tarkin on the Death Star. The Empires most experienced and loyal officer was dead.

Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader made an announcement over the holonet and commended every officer and soldier who served at the Battle of Yavin IV. They also announced that the death of Admiral Tarkin and the millions of imperialists was the cause of rebel terrorists seeking to overthrow the Empire. Tarnus saw this and grew overwhelmed with vigor and a new purpose to avenge his fallen comrades. He put in a personal request to Vader to restore the number of his legion. Antawa was not pleased.

Antawa ordered Tarnus to the bridge and berated him in front of her crew for making a direct request to the second in command of the entire empire. She scolded Tarnus and explained that the Dark Lord was too powerful and had no time to deal with the request of a stormtrooper commander. As punishment she sentenced Tarnus to lock up for insubordination and temporarily relieved him of duty.

Several days had passed since Tarnus' lock up. He had spent all the time pondering the many losses of the empire. He could care less of Antawa's decision, he knew she was angered by the Empire's so called victory and simply could not control her anger at the moment. He simply awaited to her nerves were calm enough for him to return to his post and get back to the action. Tarnus was granted permission by Antawa to receive aftermath reports of the battle. One report was the confirmation that thousands of rebels had successfully evacuated Yavin during the battle, despite the overwhelming imperial presence.

Tarnus' cell doors opened to the sight of Darth Vader and Commander Antawa directly behind him. Tarnus stood at attention. Vader personally came to inform Tarnus that his request to replenish his legions numbers were received and granted, nearly four hundred stormtroopers and a captain were added to the legion renewing its strength back to its original form. Vader also added that if Tarnus ever made another request directly to him, it would be his last day alive. Tarnus thanked Vader. Vader left his sight and now Antawa was left. Antawa returned command of the legion to Tarnus and restored his rank as commander. Antawa, before dismissing Tarnus, apologized to him for her anger in past. Tarnus looked to her and said, "you, as my commander, did nothing wrong." Antawa nodded her head in agreement and Tarnus walked towards the crew quarters.

Epilogue

Tarnus awaited in his quarters, laying on his bed, staring into the ceiling. He remembered his old general, Jedi Master Shra, a Keldorian male. He sat up right. He looked towards his battle bag beside his leg and searched through it. He pulled out a lightsaber and ignited it. It was a rare color, orange. Just like his generals skin. Vader knew of this saber and allowed the clone to keep it. Tarnus never got rid of it.

Tarnus then felt a strange sensation coming from the saber. He shut off the saber and focused on it. It was as if the saber was talking to him. The sensation grew stronger, as if telling him to do something. Tarnus heard a voice… "It has been a while CT-7495."


End file.
